Sage Payroll: free-trial promo cut from 2 months to 1 month
What happened
Between the Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026 captures of Sage's pricing page, Pulse recorded one change: Free trial for Essentials/Standard/Premium reduced 2mo→1mo; 'You save' halved ($49→$24.50, $64→$32, $76→$38). Base prices unchanged. In detail: Free-trial promo period for Payroll Essentials/Standard/Premium plans cut from 2 months to 1 month; 'You save' amounts halved ($49→$24.50, $64→$32, $76→$38). Base recurring prices unchanged. Pulse files it as a pricing change (discount change) with a neutral direction. Pulse's latest capture (Aug 31, 2026) lists Payroll Premium at CAD 18, Payroll Essentials at $24.5, Payroll Standard at $32, Performance at CAD 4.25 and Shift planning at CAD 4.25.
It lands 36 days after Sage's previous change, "Sage hikes Payroll prices across all plans, trims free trial to 2 months" (Jul 6, 2026). Before that Pulse recorded "Sage Payroll: promo switched from 90% off/5mo to 3 months free" (Jul 4, 2026). Sage has been tracked since 2024-10-01.
In the same window Xero, Microsoft, Freshbooks and SAP SE also changed their Finance & Accounting pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Payroll Essentials · Discount—2 months1 month
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll Essentials | Discount | 2 months | 1 month | — |
Values as written on Sage's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Sage's pricing page (sage.com) from Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026; the change is marked near the top of the page, where payroll essentials discount reads 2 months and then 1 month.
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The two full-page captures with this change marked up are free with an account.
Sage, the last 90 days
Full history- Aug 31, 2026packagingSage Payroll: intro promo changed to 75% off 6 months
- Aug 24, 2026increaseSage: Payroll per-employee overage price increase ($3.50→$4.50 + more)
- Aug 11, 2026packagingSage Payroll: free-trial promo cut from 2 months to 1 month · this change
- Jul 6, 2026increaseSage hikes Payroll prices across all plans, trims free trial to 2 months
- Jul 4, 2026packagingSage Payroll: promo switched from 90% off/5mo to 3 months free
Across Finance & Accounting in the same window
All Finance & Accounting changes- XeroAug 11Xero: Intro promo deepened to 90% off, extended to 6 months
- MicrosoftAug 10Microsoft Copilot 365 Copilot: 1-month free trial added to Business plans
- FreshbooksAug 3FreshBooks: 90% off promo shortened from 6 to 3 months
- SAP SEJun 2SAP SE scraps HCM pricing plans, replaces with generic ERP quote page
Questions about this change
Did Sage raise prices in August 2026?
No list-price increase was recorded between Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026. The change Pulse detected was a pricing change: discount change.
What changed on Sage's pricing page between Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026?
Payroll Essentials discount: 2 months → 1 month. Pulse compared the captures it took on Aug 3, 2026 and Aug 10, 2026; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Sage change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 2 other pricing-page changes for Sage in the 90 days before this one; the previous change was "Sage hikes Payroll prices across all plans, trims free trial to 2 months" on Jul 6, 2026; Sage has been tracked since 2024-10-01.